T. Denny Sanford Archives - Sanford Burnham Prebys

Tag: T. Denny Sanford

Institute News

A year-end note from David Brenner

AuthorDavid Brenner
Date

December 19, 2023

David A Brenner, MD

This past year — my first full calendar year as president and CEO of Sanford Burnham Prebys — has been exciting and immensely rewarding. We’ve accomplished a lot and, more importantly, laid the groundwork for a wealth of future achievements.

It begins with having a plan. We are in the midst of a biomedical revolution, one in which the old ways of thinking about and doing science no longer address the complexities of modern research or the greater needs in public health.

Sanford Burnham Prebys is particularly positioned to adapt and lead in this new world by combining distinct and powerful resources with a unified mission driven by ambitious goals that emphasize disease-focused centers combined with enabling technology programs.

Of course, doing so requires a brilliant faculty, one that boasts exceptional skills and vision not just in this moment, but in the years to come. Our faculty know what to do. Our newest faculty promise to further propel and elevate. In less than a year, we have hired eight early-career scientists and physicians, an unprecedented number in such a short time.

They are among the best and brightest, coming from elite labs and institutions across the country: Shengie Feng, PhD (Howard Hughes Medical Institute and UCSF); Kelly Kersten, PhD (UCSF); Angela Liou, MD (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) Sanjeev Ranade, PhD (Gladstone Institutes); Sanju Sinha, PhD (National Cancer Institute); Xueqin Sherine Sun, PhD (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory); Kevin Tharp, PhD (UCSF); and Xiao Tian, PhD (Harvard Medical School).

A couple have already started their next chapters of their careers at Sanford Burnham Prebys, including already landing new grants! Others begin in January or March. Please welcome them.

These eight scientists represent the first wave. There are more to come, the benefit of Denny Sanford’s landmark gift early in 2023.

It has been a robust year in science at Sanford Burnham Prebys, too.

The Cancer Center received a merit extension from the NCI related to its support grant, a rare recognition of ongoing excellence. The Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics continues to be the go-to place for drug discovery, highlighted by a trio of recent awards totaling almost $25 million to pursue novel leads and promising therapies to treat all manners of addiction.

Sanford Burnham Prebys researchers are pushing boundaries across disciplines, from DNA loops in pediatric brain tumors and a sugar with anti-cancer properties to a heart attack study that could change regenerative medicine and discovering that an incurable liver disease might just be curable.

We’ve also welcomed two new trustees: Michael R. Cunningham, PhD and Lori Moore.

It’s been a busy year. It’s been a good year.

With all of you, next year will be even better.

Institute News

Tight employment a sign of resilience: Interview with David Brenner

AuthorMiles Martin
Date

February 9, 2023

David A Brenner, MD

Sanford Burnham Prebys recently received a substantial gift from namesake benefactor T. Denny Sanford, specifically to hire 20 new faculty positions in research areas including cancer, neurodegeneration and computational biology.

For president and CEO David A. Brenner, MD, the gift provides the opportunity to bring the very best and brightest to the Institute. It is also a sign of how resilient and successful the biomedical research sector is in the San Diego region.

“Our goal is to recruit the smartest, most innovative scientists from the best laboratories in the top institutions in the world,” said, David Brenner. “In addition, this new gift will be used to invest in our current faculty and research infrastructure.”

The success of life science as an industry has made finding talented researchers harder over the years. According to a report published by CBRE, the number of researchers working in life sciences grew 79% from 2001 to 2021. Yet despite that growth, life science occupations had the second-lowest unemployment rate of all U.S. occupations at just 0.6%.

“There is an incredible demand for researchers and scientists, and shortage of biomedical skilled labor in general. This tight labor market and competition for talent is linked to the success of institutes and need for world-class scientists,” Brenner said, adding that to help meet the demand, Sanford Burnham Prebys doubled the size of its entering class of its graduate school this year.

Research institutes like Sanford Burnham Prebys compete against for-profit private and public companies for talented graduates to come work for them, which is why philanthropic donations like the one from Sanford are important to nonprofit research enterprises.

“If you look at how nonprofit biomedical research institutions get support, there are not as many avenues for funding. Competitive grants do not provide project startup funds,” Brenner said. “T. Denny Sanford’s recent gift will allow Sanford Burnham Prebys to attract the most promising scientists from around the world and support them as they develop into world-class scientists. In addition, the donation will allow Sanford Burnham Prebys to invest in our research infrastructure and technology, imperative when recruiting the brightest minds in biomedical research.”

This story was adapted from a special report in the San Diego Business Journal. 

Institute News

Sanford Burnham Prebys celebrates 46 years of discoveries

AuthorMiles Martin
Date

July 27, 2022

Group photo of Institute employees outside Ruoslahti Way

Happy birthday, Sanford Burnham Prebys

Sanford Burnham Prebys recently hosted a celebration to honor the anniversary of the Institute’s founding. More than 200 scientists, students and staff gathered to commemorate 46 years of world-class biomedical research. 

“I’ve seen the Institute grow from just five employees to the more than 500 we have today,” said Institute Professor José Luis Millán, PhD, who emceed the event. Millán joined the Institute in 1977, just one year after its founding. “What is important for the Institute now, as we reach middle age, is to reflect on our successes as we move forward into the next decades of our life.”

Attendees enjoyed an all-you-can-eat ice cream truck and a prize raffle, where guests won Institute hats, mugs and other prizes. Longtime supporters of the Institute also spoke, including Malin Burnham, Nina Fishman, and Debbie Turner, partner of the late Conrad Prebys. The party closed with a recorded birthday song from Institute Professor Hudson Freeze, PhD

Burnham recounted how he met the Institute’s two other namesakes, T. Denny Sanford and Conrad Prebys, reflecting on how these chance meetings helped the Institute grow to become the world-class facility it is today. He also expressed his gratitude to the staff. 

“All of you are a part of the family, and that is what I’ve enjoyed as much as anything in my 40 years with this organization,” said Burnham during his comments. “I want to thank each and every one of you for being a part of this organization.”

Decades of discoveries
Sanford Burnham Prebys was founded on July 7, 1976, as the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation. Since then, the Institute has established itself as a world leader in biomedical research, where scientists can work collaboratively to discover cures.

It all started when founder William Fishman, MD, PhD, left his post as professor, director and founder of the Tufts Cancer Research Center in Boston. He, along with wife and career partner, Lillian Fishman, moved west to San Diego with a $180,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute, which they used to start the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation.

“[The Fishmans] were dedicated to the idea of pure science,” explains Nina Fishman, daughter of William and Lillian. Nina Fishman is a longtime supporter of Sanford Burnham Prebys, and she recently coauthored Development of a California Research Organization, a book chronicling the Institute’s history. “They wanted a place where scientists could focus on their work.”

At that time, the foundation consisted of five employees, a rented office space, and lab equipment pieced together from spare parts. Today, it is a world-class medical research institute with a graduate school and one of only seven NCI-designated basic cancer centers in the country.

“My parents were the founders of the past, but you are the founders of the future,” adds Fishman.

Institute News

SBP and friends remember Conrad Prebys with a touching tribute

AuthorHelen I. Hwang
Date

October 11, 2017

SBP's Conrad Prebys Tribute with Greg Lucier, Debbie Turner, Denny Sanford, Malin Burnham, Kristiina Vuori and Hank Nordhoff

With the brilliant sun descending over the famed Torrey Pines Golf Course overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a close knit of friends and loved ones gathered to pay tribute to Conrad Prebys and his lasting impact on Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP). It might’ve been the same kind of gorgeous sunset that inspired Prebys to put down roots in California after moving from Indiana with $500 in his pocket.

T. Denny Sanford and Malin Burnham came to the podium and spoke about the loss of their dear friend Conrad. Burnham spoke about how much he admired Conrad’s “gut” feeling, which inspired him to become a loyal supporter to the Institute. In 2015, SBP was the recipient of Prebys’ extraordinary philanthropic gift of $100 million.

SBP President Kristiina Vuori, MD, PhD, recounted Conrad’s delightful visits and his longstanding relationship with the Institute. Michael Jackson, PhD, senior vice president of Drug Discovery and Development and head of the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, known as the Prebys Center, spoke highly about how impressed he was with Conrad’s intellectual curiosity and passion for science.

“Conrad’s generosity has enabled us to become a world-class facility, with the Prebys Center being recognized as one of the most comprehensive, nonprofit drug discovery centers in the world, conducting innovative drug discovery across all major disease areas – cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, heart failure, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease,” said Dr. Jackson. In large part because of Conrad’s pivotal contribution, SBP is often chosen as a collaborative partner of choice among pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, academic institutions and academic foundations all over the United States.

Debbie Turner also attended the tribute and enjoyed the walk down memory lane with Conrad and his relationship to SBP with a photo presentation of years past and a dedicated short video SBP produced celebrating Conrad’s life.

Guests enjoyed an outdoor buffet reception, while mingling with scientists who attended SBP’s Annual Symposium earlier that day. Nearly 300 scientists from all over the world gathered to attend SBP’s annual conference, which was themed “Frontiers in Single Cell Biology.”

After the touching tribute that brought a few of the guests to tears, friends gathered for a light reception of dessert and coffee and said their “goodbyes” until the next SBP event.

Our Annual Gala will be held on Saturday, October 14 at Coasterra on Harbor Island in downtown San Diego. Tickets are available here: SBP’s 2017 Annual Gala.  

 

Joan and Irwin Jacobs with Denny Sanford​
Irwin and Joan Jacobs with Denny Sanford

 

Sheila and Jeffrey Lipinski with Debbie Turner​
Sheila and Jeffrey Lipinsky with Debbie Turner

 

 

 

Institute News

Welcome to the new Beaker!

Authorpbartosch
Date

April 29, 2015

Header image

In March, we celebrated the fifth anniversary of the launch of Sanford-Burnham’s science blog Beaker. Today, we are thrilled to announce that we have completely redesigned our blog to make it more intuitive, visually appealing, and interactive. We’ll get into the features of the new Beaker further down, but first, let’s travel back in time…

It all started at 11:34 a.m. Eastern Time on March 24, 2010, with a post about T. Denny Sanford’s landmark gift of $50 million to the Institute. As a result of the gift, we changed our name from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research to Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. This story kicked off Beaker, which now consists of almost 800 posts and has been visited by more than 2 million people since 2010.

A lot has happened at Sanford-Burnham since March 2010. Our scientists have made numerous significant discoveries, they’ve published hundreds of scientific papers, and we recently introduced our new Institute CEO and 10-year strategic vision. Beaker is your source for exciting news and scientific advances at Sanford-Burnham.

New Beaker Features

Our goal has been to make the reading experience unique and easy for all fans of scientific research. Here are a few of the new features:

  • Dashboard homepage: The new Beaker homepage is much more visually appealing, with a focus on images and themes. The new blog design was also chosen because it works nicely on mobile devices and tablets.
  • Categories: You can now find all stories in one of our new categories:
    • Research News – stories about our scientific publications
    • Improving Human Health – stories about disease research that has a tangible impact on health
    • What’s Happening – posts about events, industry trends, partnerships, grants, etc.
    • People – profiles and interviews with Sanford-Burnham scientists, leadership, and staff
  • Integration with social media: You can now read our live Twitter feed in the right panel of the Beaker homepage. And our Facebook integration makes it easy to leave comments and track discussion threads on our blog posts. Try it now!

We hope you are as excited about the new Beaker as we are. Let us know what you think by commenting on Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #TheNewBeaker.